Crash victim’s tragic end
Marlborough Sounds crash victim Pryor Lee lost his life in an attempt to save another.
Pryor, 36, died in Nelson Hospital on March 7, a day after his ute plunged 200m down a hill on a remote stretch of the Te TowakaPort Ligar Rd in the Kokowhai Bay area while trying to avoid a campervan.
Injured and dazed from the accident, Pryor walked through the bush all night, before finding his way to a house in the morning.
He then texted his girlfriend to let her know he was safe, and told her what had happened. But tragically, his condition deteriorated quickly the following day.
Pryor’s mother, Wendy Matthews, said the crash happened when her son attempted to avoid a collision.
‘‘It’s a shame he lost his life, trying to save another. He was just a very caring, loving, outdoors guy.’’
Pryor was on his way to Bulwer Bay on Wednesday morning, commuting to his job at New Zealand King Salmon.
Working week on, week off, he was travelling from Greymouth after staying with his mother the week before.
While driving north on Te Towaka-Port Ligar Rd about 10.30am, he encountered a campervan attempting to overtake another campervan coming from the opposite direction.
Matthews said her son pulled over to the left to avoid taking out the campervan, and was left with nowhere else to go.
She said his ute veered off the road and rolled down the bank more than 200 metres, with Pryor losing consciousness.
When he came to hours later it was pitch black, and he couldn’t find his phone or other items from his truck.
Matthews said her son was an experienced bushman and knew he couldn’t climb back up the hill, so decided to continue walking downhill.
Eventually spotting the light from a faraway house, he walked all night through the bush before making his way there by about 9am.
When the people at the house asked if he wanted an ambulance or a helicopter, Pryor declined.
Matthews said while Pryor knew he had broken a couple of ribs and grazed his leg, he didn’t think there was anything else wrong with him.
‘‘He said he needed to text his girlfriend,’’ Matthews said.
‘‘He wasn’t incoherent or anything like that, he didn’t want me to know because he thought he was fine.’’
Pryor was driven to Nelson Hospital, making it there by about 1pm, but his condition began to deteriorate quickly and he died about 4pm.
Matthews said her son loved the outdoors life, having had experience in the bush, on the water, and as a commercial helicopter pilot. She said the family had been overwhelmed by the support they had received, and wanted to thank everyone for their kind words and thoughts.
‘‘He was an open book, but you had to get to know him before he opened up – just a typical fantastic kid.
‘‘He crammed everything into his 36 years.’’
Pryor had worked for New Zealand King Salmon as a member of the net cleaning team since July 2018.
NZ King Salmon chief executive Grant Rosewarne said normally employees would travel by boat to get to their farms.
‘‘A boat is the normal way for people to get to our farms ... typically if people are not choosing that, it’s because they have chosen a way that’s more convenient for them,’’ he said.